[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 19 (Friday, February 3, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H963]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              BABY FATEMEH

  (Ms. BONAMICI asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, this is Fatemeh. She is not a terrorist. 
She is a 4-month-old baby girl who is in immediate need of open heart 
surgery. Her parents desperately want the best care for her, so they 
planned to bring her from their home in Iran to Portland, Oregon, to 
one of the best hospitals for pediatric heart surgery. That is where 
Fatemeh's uncle and grandparents all live. They are U.S. citizens.
  Then President Trump hastily issued the executive order, and the 
family's plans were brought to a halt. The order is supposed to expire 
in 90 days, but Fatemeh's family does not know if she can wait that 
long.
  Now, I don't know what the President had in mind when he signed that 
order, but it probably wasn't baby Fatemeh. Keeping 4-month-old babies 
out of our country does not make us safer. It puts her life in danger 
and it diminishes the United States in the eyes of the world.
  My office has reached out to Fatemeh's family in Oregon to be of 
assistance, but it is heartbreaking and disgraceful that this even 
happened. I hope the courts invalidate this unconstitutional executive 
order soon, and I hope it is in time for baby Fatemeh.

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